IAEA experts leave kyiv for the Zaporizhia NPP

A team of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) left kyiv on Wednesday morning to inspect the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, taken over by Russian forces since the beginning of March.

“We are going to spend a few days there,” announced the head of the IAEA mission, Rafael Grossi, before leaving kyiv. Grossi has announced that he and 13 other experts will work to stabilize the situation “as far as possible”, according to the DPA agency.

The IAEA chief hopes to hold talks with the plant’s Ukrainian staff during the visit.

Grossi stressed that his team had received all the necessary security guarantees for the long journey to the war zone, some 450 kilometers from kyiv.

“We are entering occupied territory and this requires explicit guarantees, not only from the Russian side, but also from the Republic of Ukraine,” he stressed before leaving in a convoy of 10 white SUVs with UN markings.

The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe. It has a net power of 9,500 megawatts and had more than 10,000 employees before the war began. The plant was occupied by Russian troops shortly after the invasion of Ukraine began in late February.

In recent weeks, the plant has been the target of frequent gunshots and explosions, for which kyiv and Moscow blame each other, sparking international concern about a possible nuclear catastrophe.

Source: Europa Press